Emera, Nova Scotia Power’s parent company, announced late Friday its plans to buy TECO (Tampa Electric, Peoples Gas and New Mexico Gas Co.), which it says will make it one of the top 20 regulated utilities in North America.

“This is a transformational announcement for Emera, so we are very excited about this important day,” Chris Huskilson, Emera’s president and CEO, told analysts in a conference call Friday evening.

“We are essentially doubling the company,” he said.

TECO is an energy-related holding company with regulated electric and gas utilities in Florida and New Mexico.

Emera’s purchase includes debt of about $3.9 billion, with TECO shareholders receiving $27.55 per share in cash in the deal.

Following the transaction, Emera’s total assets will increase to about US$20 billion, with most of those in the United States.

Fifty-six per cent of Emera’s assets will be in Florida, 23 per cent in Canada, 10 per cent in New England, six per cent in New Mexico and five per cent in the Caribbean, according to a company release.

Emera has been preparing for a transaction like this for some time and found its “perfect match” in TECO, Huskilson told analysts.

The transaction is expected to benefit Emera’s shareholders and meet the company’s strategic objectives, he said.

“It is accretive in the first full year, and by the third year, it will be greater than 10 per cent more accretive to the business. … In one step, we meet our regulated earnings target.”

The transaction, which must go through U.S. regulatory approvals, as well as TECO shareholder approval, is expected to close in mid-2016.

TECO Energy is expected to keep its current headquarters located in Tampa, Fla., and Albuquerque, N.M.

Tampa Electric has about 700,000 and Peoples Gas about 350,000 customers in Florida. New Mexico Gas serves about 510,000 customers across New Mexico, the release said.

Following the acquisition, the new energy company will serve about 2.4 million customers.

“It extends our regulatory platform into natural gas distribution, an objective that we have had for some time … It really creates increased scale for the business,” Huskilson said.